Trick or Treating on Main street with Maddie, Meg and Grandma Sandy (well, Mama was there too but behind the camera!) It was so cute to see the girl stop at the fairy doors and leave the fairies treats. :)

Glasses
We just learned that our beautiful Em is almost blind in her left eye and probably has been since birth. The Dr. we met with has prescribed a strong lens on one side of her glasses in order to get her brain to kick in and accept images from the eye. It came as quite a shock to all of us that know her well and at first it was a little hard to even believe.
Emma was not real thrilled (who really would be?) at first and is slowly getting use to having the glasses on. We go back to the Dr in mid- dec to see if her vision has improved in the left eye and then plan for next steps. If the glasses will work the dr. says they will do so normally in the first 6 weeks. We are hoping and praying they work, and that her brain starts to accept images from her left eye. We appreciate any prayers our freinds and family can share as well.
All in all- it could be worse and are glad we learned about this now before it would have been too late to try treatments. And of course, Emma is still a beuatiful princess, even in her glasses.

Emma's school party (2 days before Halloween- not sure why 2 days before, but hey they had fun! :) I love how Emma holds her dress up and flashes her princess smile.

Time to head home-
Although it is always fun, it is also always hard to say goodbye. Emma really enjoys being with her cousins and we wish she had more time to spend with them.

It beginning to look a lot like Christmas...
Ok, ok so it wasn't even Halloween when we took this picture, but it was sure nice of Opa to set it up while Emma was there just for fun! :)

Cooking Dampfnudeln is a family affair!

Checking out the Altlussheim Kirwe with Evi and Jessi (well Lisa and Sarah were there too, but on the big kid rides and off to parties :)

A visit to Legoland Berlin
It was a fun way to spend the afternoon. Emma loves playing in each of the areas and Alex was a good sport about hanging out with us there. :) We were glad we got to catch up with her!!

Emma and Pongo at Ka Wa De
(good thing he didn't fit in the suitcase!!)

YUMMY!! We found a great little Indian place in Berlin. The atmosphere and food were both awesome!! :)

Eating out in Berlin at Alex's Restaurant!

Hanging out in Berlin...

Berlin Tour
Alex and Emma joined the Max Planck Fellows on our tour of Berlin.














By the time we got to dinner both Emma and Mama were quite tired.













Alex and Jerel look more awake!! Ah to be young again! :)
















I think the highlight for Emma was hanging out with Julie, another U of M fellow.

Hanging out with Emma's cousins in Germany
They have all grown (and matured) so much in just a few short months!!

Happy Birthday Papa!!
Although Mama and Emma were in Germany for Papa's birthday we hope he had a great time in California celebrating his special day!! We love you Papa!!

Happy Birthday Mom (better known these days as Grandma Sandy)!!
Emma and Grandma enjoying the mocktails before papa arrived home to join in the fun!

Checking out the Harvest Festival at the farm.
What a great day at the farm! From the antique wares and handmade crafts, to the sheep, rabbit and bird encounters, to pumpkin painting, merry-go-rounding and hayrides- we had a great time!

Having fun dressing up with Maddie :)

Checking out a new park... Hard to believe we have lived so closer to this park for 3 years and never even knew it was here! Since it was great fun, we will be back! :)